Little Lake Fire officials talk budget, increase in calls, firehouse

Board hires help for ballot measure

Little Lake Fire Protection District Chief Chris Wilkes said the department had 52 calls for service in January, putting the department back on track for more than 600 calls for the year. At their monthly board of directors meeting Feb. 13, department heads discussed their mid-year budget, reimbursement for strike teams that participated in the Mendocino Complex and other fires and approved an allocation for a consultant to work on the proposed ballot measure for a new fire house, among other issues.

In his report to the board Wilkes said the 52 calls included four structure fires, 16 traffic accidents, three medical aid calls, five hazardous condition calls and 17 non-alarm calls.

“That number just keeps creeping up every single year it seems,” he said. Wilkes said the department is also making a push for more water rescue needs, trying to get swift water training done, weather permitting.

“I just want to make note that these honey oil labs were not permitted businesses,” he said, and added that he wanted to clarify because often in social media the public starts to get after the local cannabis ordinance approved by the city. “On social media we saw that reported as three different cannabis labs (explosions) in Mendocino County within a couple of weeks. I am not siding with that industry, but our department was involved (in the drafting of the ordinance) to make sure when these facilities are permitted, that they fall underneath all other industrial laws, OSHA standards, and fire standards to prevent any of that kind of stuff from happening.”

Wilkes said the only way those types of incidents can be prevented is to regulate the facilities when they are permitted.

The fire chief informed the board there’s been recent talks of a cannabis excise tax within the city and said he would like for the department to stay on top of it because the department plays a big part in making sure that the facilities that are related to cannabis follow all the rules.

Finally, Wilkes said the department is still in the process of strategic planning for the department’s vision and mission statement.

“One thing we found is our community does not understand what we do,” he said, and added packages of information have been sent out to the community. “We are trying to embark on a trail to get that out there and to show the community what we are all about,” Wilkes said. “Prevention is the most important thing we do within the community.”

“We would be using Herb only for his expertise and for how to word the letters in favor and make sure we get on the ballot in the correct manner for the public to see it,” Wilkes said, adding a political action committee is going to use Williams on the political side, dealing with campaign issues, although a memorandum of understanding detailing Williams’ services had not yet been signed. He noted that part of the project is independent of the fire district’s contribution.

A meeting has been scheduled March 7 for Wilkes and members of the board of directors to meet with Richard Burton, the Santa Rosa-based architect working on the fire house project and a representative from the Department of Agriculture where fire department officials will discuss a loan application to move the project forward.

Budget

According to the department treasurer’s report for February, the department has a fund balance available of just over $82,000 as of Feb. 7.

Department officials said the treasurer’s report for end of Fiscal Year 2017 showed a deficit because the county did not transfer funds over for the purchase of an Office of Emergency Services engine at the time.

Wilkes said the department’s current report is accurate with the county and in line with their reports. He said the department has enough funding in their reserves to purchase a new fire truck, and a quick attack duty rig is needed due to the amount of duty officers the department currently has, with John Thomen possibly being the only strike team leader in the county.

According to Wilkes, the department is waiting for state reimbursements for the Mendo Lake Complex fire and other incidents.

“There’s a lot of money sitting out there that still needs to be collected,” Wilkes said.

The board agreed to work with staff to determine how much the department is owed in order to pay for some fire fighters who await payment for incidents like the Creek fire in mid-December.